Most inkjet printers have a scanning or reciprocating printhead that is repeatedly scanned or reciprocated across the printing width as the media incrementally advances along the media feed path. This allows a compact and low cost printer arrangement. However, scanning printhead based printing systems are mechanically complex and slow in light of accurate control of the scanning motion and time delays from the incremental stopping and starting of the media with each scan.
Media width printheads resolve this issue by providing a stationary printhead spanning the media. Such media width printers offer high performance but larger printheads require a higher ink supply flow rate and the pressure drop in the ink from the ink inlet on the printhead to nozzles remote from the inlet can change the drop ejection characteristics. Large supply flow rates necessitate large ink tanks which exhibit a large pressure drop when the ink level in low compared to the hydrostatic pressure generated when the ink tank is full. Individual pressure regulators integrated into each printhead is unwieldy and expensive for multi-color printheads, particularly those carrying four or more inks. For example, a system with five inks would require 25 regulators.
Inkjet printers that can prime, deprime and purge air bubbles from the printhead offer the user distinct advantages. Removing a depleted printhead can cause inadvertent spillage of residual ink if it has not been de-primed before decoupling from the printer.
Air bubbles trapped in printheads are a perennial problem and a common cause of print artifacts. Actively and rapidly removing air bubbles from the printhead allows the user to rectify print problems without replacing the printhead. Active priming, de-priming and air purging typically use a lot of ink, particularly if the ink is drawn through the nozzles by vacuum or the like. This is exacerbated by large arrays of nozzles as more ink is lost as the number of nozzles increases.
Thus, there is a need to have a fluid distribution solution that is simpler, more reliable and more effective for media wide printing systems.
Further, such media width printheads having a large array of inkjet nozzles are difficult to maintain. For example, there is a need to maintain the printheads which becomes exceptionally difficult when the array of nozzles is as long as the media is wide. Further, the maintenance stations typically need to be located offset from the printheads so as not to interfere with media transport.
Some previous systems move the printheads to the servicing stations when not printing. However, when a printhead is returned to its operative position its alignment for correct printing is prone to drift until eventually visible artifacts demand hardware and/or software mechanisms to realign the printhead. In other previous systems, the service stations translate from their offset position to service the printheads while the printheads are raised sufficiently above the media path. Both of these system designs suffer from drawbacks of large printer width dimensions, complicated design and control, and difficulty in maintaining printhead alignment. Further, these systems add size to the printer. Thus, there is a need to have a media wide printhead maintenance solution that is simpler, more compact and more effective for media wide printing systems.
Further, the high media transport speeds used in such media width printers, particularly those which print on continuous web media, have typically lead to more complex media transport systems in the printers, due to the need to minimize media feed errors. Thus, there is a need to have a media transport solution that is simpler and more reliable for media wide printing systems.